Buerkle, Maffei hear postal workers rally to save jobs

View full sizeMichelle Gabel / The Post-StandardLetter carriers and their supporters rally at the Federal Building in Syracuse against Senate Bill 1789 which would make major cuts in the U.S. Postal Service. Eastwood postal carrier Terry Esposito, of Cicero, middle, and Cortland postal carrier Greg Rowe, of Cortland, right, are shown marching behind Fulton postal carrier Ed Roy, of Fulton, who carries a flag during the rally Thursday.

By Julie McMahon
Contributing writer

More than 50 active and retired U.S. Postal Service workers gathered Thursday after work to protest a Congressional bill that they say will lead to the “death spiral of an American institution.”

“This bill would be destructive,” said Jim Lostumbo, president of Branch 134 of the National Association of Letter Carriers. “If you hurt the Postal Service, you’ll hurt a lot more than that.”

The Syracuse-area letter carriers join nationwide protests against the proposed “21st Century Postal Service Act of 2012.” The bill, Lostumbo said, would cut services like door-to-door delivery and Saturday delivery. It would put 80,000 people out of work and continue to burden current employees with a $5.5 billion-a-year mandated payment toward retirement, he said.

“Through snow, sleet and rain, the Postal Service will remain!” marchers cheered together. The purpose of the rally, marchers said, was to get the message across to representatives in Congress that they are unhappy about parts of the bill and to inform the public that the postal service is not just about delivering mail.

Both U.S. Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, and her challenger, Democrat Dan Maffei, were at the rally. The two shook hands for the first time this election season.

Maffei addressed the crowd at the end of the rally, voicing his support for the USPS. Some of the marchers called to Buerkle, asking “Are you with us or not?” Buerkle spoke with union leaders, but not publicly, during the march. A letter carrier in Syracuse for 26 years now, Stan Jocz said it felt good to have politicians show up and listen. “It’s not easy to get their attention,” Jocz said. “We want to get both Democrats and Republicans on our side, to work together.”

Patty Losurdo, a letter carrier in Syracuse for 18 years, brought her 6-year-old granddaughter, Bryanna, to the rally. For Losurdo, the rally was about more than delivering the mail.